Square roots: Tide DE from Texas has DNA that says football

Redshirt sophomore defensive end Damion Square takes a break during Alabama's first practice of the 2010 preseason. (The Birmingham News / Mark Almond)

TUSCALOOSA -- When people talk about Alabama defensive lineman Damion Square coming from an athletic family, they aren't referring to his mother and father. They're talking about great uncles, uncles and cousins.

Square roots seem to run deep in the Third Ward of Houston, Texas.

"He's what I would call a legacy," said Robert Dooley, the college guidance administrator at Yates High School.

"At Jack Yates High School, a very historical high school, there's a legend that there's been a Square at Jack Yates since it opened its doors in 1926."

A great uncle, Charles Square, played college football in California in the 1960s. Uncle Johnny Otis Square, a 1972 Yates graduate, played at Colorado State. Another uncle played at Texas Southern. And another relative, John Square, played at Miami after graduating from Yates in 2000.

"He has some DNA that says 'football,' " Dooley said.

Damion Square might be on his way to outdoing them all. He's a redshirt sophomore whose 2009 season was cut short by a serious knee injury in the Crimson Tide's second game of the season. But he has rebounded, participated in spring drills and now could be a key player on a deep defensive line.

Square is the third defensive end in Alabama's 3-4 defense behind Marcell Dareus and Luther Davis, coach Nick Saban said last week. Square might rush the passer when the Crimson Tide goes to a nickel defense that has become a frequent set.

"He hasn't had any issues coming back from the injury," Saban said. "So we're very pleased with the progress that he made. We think he has some pass-rush ability, so we're excited to have him back and we're pleased with the job he's done to this point."

That news doesn't surprise Ronald Miller, who is in his third season as the head coach at Yates High after serving 27 years there as an assistant.

"When he left here, he was still rough around the edges," Miller said. "In talking to him since he's been at Alabama, I've seen a great change. You can tell the effect of being in a first-class, national-championship-minded program. He has a different mindset, a different demeanor now. He talks about the intensity level at practice."

Miller remembers Square's early days at Yates.

"He was a young raw kid when he was here," Miller said. "In the ninth grade, he played seven different positions: quarterback, kickoff returns, defensive line, everywhere they needed him. You could see the potential in him. In the 10th grade, he played well. He started to demonstrate a swagger about himself."

As Square continued to develop, confidence crossed the line to cockiness.

"He thought he was the toughest thing in Texas," Miller said.

Was he?

"In his mind," Miller said.

There was a bit of showboat in Square. He worked on a dance to celebrate sacks and other big tackles, but he didn't get many chances to show off those moves.

"In the playoffs, the good teams come at you, but people in our district ran away from him," Miller said.

Texas A&M was interested in Square, but Texas was not.

"Texas wants prime beef," Miller said. "I don't think he was on the radar there. If you don't go to their camp . . . Damion went to Alabama's camp. He liked everything he saw at Alabama."

Miller knew Square long before high school.

"I've known him all his life," the coach said. "I'm kin to his family."

After his father died when he was 14, Miller and his siblings were adopted by one of Square's great aunts. Miller played for Hayden Fry at North Texas. A brother played for the Minnesota Vikings. But the biggest influences in Square's young life were his uncles, Miller said.

"All of them played some part in his development," Miller said. "Damion believed in his talent so much, his uncles used to say, 'This boy needs to check himself.' "He never doubted himself."